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Bleak Picture For Illinois Food Banks In 2012

By most measures, 2011 will be remembered as one of the most
challenging years for many of the state’s food banks, pantries, shelters
and soup kitchens.

Efforts to feed those residents who don’t know
where their next meal is coming from has been a daunting task - as the
level of demand has risen to some of its highest levels in recent
memory.

With government and private donations on the decline,
many charitable food providers have been forced to do more with less in
order to continue operating, which has raised concerns that conditions
for the state’s hungry might get even worse in 2012.

“I would
say that overall, the food banks are keeping their heads above water,
but it’s been a real struggle,” said Tracy Smith, state director for
Feeding Illinois, a coalition of the state’s eight food banks that
provides food for more than 2,000 food pantries, shelters and soup
kitchens throughout Illinois. “We’re very, very concerned about what
next year [2012] looks like.”

One of the biggest challenges
food banks continued to face in 2011 was dealing with the effects of a
still sluggish economy, which has kept the state’s unemployment rate
around 10 percent since 2009.

The result has been an increase
in first-time visitors to food pantries in recent years, as more and
more middle class households have been forced to seek food assistance.

In
terms of supply, Smith said a major reason for the concern has been a
projected decline in the amount of food donations coming from the
federal government through The Emergency Food Assistance Program
(TEFAP), which provided Illinois with more than 30 million pounds of
food last year.

As Smith explained, TEFAP allocations are tied
with the federal farm bill, which provides subsidies to farmers to
offset dips in market food prices. Food bought through TEFAP is then
distributed to the states to help re-stock food banks.

“In the
past year, prices have increased [and] fuel costs have increased,”
Smith said. “And so there are fewer dollars to spend on the commodity
food. “

In fact, data provided by the Illinois Department of
Human Services paints a rather bleak picture for charitable food
supplies – with projections indicating the state since last July, has
experienced a 40 percent drop in the amount of food made available
through TEFAP compared to the same period in 2010, amounting to a loss
of about 10 million to 12 million pounds.

Few facilities have
felt the decline in food donations harder than the Greater Chicago Food
Depository (GCFD), which distributes an estimated 69 million pounds of
food each year.

“One of the big factors we’re facing is rising
food prices,” GCFD spokesman Bob Dolgan said. “From TEFAP alone, we
have seen a decline of about 3 million to 4 million pounds of food.”

If
trends continue, the number of people food pantries will be able to
serve will decline, leaving many of the state’s estimated 1.8 million
residents who are considered to be food insecure with even fewer options
for help.

“It is a reality that both federal and state
resources are tight and it doesn’t look like they are getting much
better in the short term,” said Thomas, who also serves as a member of
the Illinois Commission to End Hunger. “One of things we’ve been looking
at is the importance of not only relying on publicly-funded resources,
but also developing more private and alternative resources to really
tackle this problem.”

But government resources remain a large
part of the solution, according to Smith, who also serves on the
Commission. One alternative being discussed is an effort to increase
enrollment in federal assistance programs such as the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, as
well as the National School Lunch program.

“If we can bring
more resources in and take some pressure off of the food banks, then we
have more resources for those people who don’t qualify [for federal
assistance],” Smith said. She added that the Commission was also
looking into the possibility of establishing more direct relationships
between food banks and local farmers.

The changing face of hunger
throughout the state has coincided with an overall greater dependence
for food assistance. According to the national charitable organization
Feeding America, more clients say they are visiting food pantries to
meet chronic, long-term issues with food insecurity as opposed to
getting short-term help for emergencies.

The organization has
estimated roughly 42 percent of those recognized as being food insecure
in Illinois have incomes that make them ineligible to qualify for SNAP.
The program in 2011 reportedly saw an 8 percent rise in the number of
households receiving benefits compared to 2010.

Thomas was hopeful
the work of the Commission will help find solutions that will greatly
reduce the rate of hunger throughout Illinois even as government
resources have waned. Appointed by Gov. Pat Quinn in 2010, the
Commission is scheduled to release its initial report in March that is
expected to include more details of its plan moving forward.

“I
think that the report will acknowledge the uncertainty that is out
there, and obviously the need for continued investments in hunger
programs at the federal level,” Thomas said. “But it will also recognize
that we cannot rely on that alone, and also focus on what opportunities
there are to develop alternative partnerships and funding strategies.”